The club dates back to 1910 in the city of
Irapuato,
Guanajuato where a club was founded under the name
Club Mutualista Irapuatense by Pedro Garnu and by Diego Mosqueda who was an important person in the sports development in the city, and would later go on to establish the club's rival
Club León in the 1920s. In its first years many clubs were formed in order to create a futbol league in
Guanajuato Deportivo Irapuato, Internacional,
Club Marte, ISCO and
León inaugurated the league in 1925. The first tournament was won by Club Marte because the tournament was not finished due to problems between
Irapuato and ISCO. In 1928 the club reached the final and played against Deportivo Internacional; the club's squad was made up by Kurt Lenk as keeper Antonio Aguilar and José Núñez playing defender Julián Ramírez, Francisco Belman and Salvador Silva in the mid field and Antonio "El Gato" Baltazar, Crisoforo Juárez, Secundino Alvarado, Teofilo and Juan Aguilera playing as forwards. The club came out with a 1–0 victory, winning its first league title. This club wore a white shirt with black shorts and socks. The club that plays today under the name
Club Deportivo Irapuato was founded in 1948 where it had trouble staying in the league. in the late 1940s there were various clubs that represented the city of
Irapuato and it was until 1948 when they decided to merge in order to become more competitive and so they did and joined the
Segunda División de México in 1949. The men in charge of the merge were
Oscar Bonfiglio and
Jesús Vaca Gaona both had participated in the
1928 Olympic games in
Amsterdam. The club would once again change its name this time to Club Deportivo Irapuato A.C which many people believe to be the date when the club was established.
Promotion to Primera División Against
Puebla FC in 1954. The club was one of the first clubs to inaugurate the
Segunda División de México in the 1949–50 tournament where after 3 seasons the club won its first promotion. The club made its debut to the
Primera División de México in the league on 22 August 1954 against
Zacatepec who they beat 4–5. In the second round the club played at home in the
Estadio Revolución stadium against
Puebla who they also defeated 4–0. The club also revived its rivalry which had stopped in the late 1930s against
León, that game ended in a 1–1 draw. The club's best tournament was the
1963–64 Mexican Primera División season where the club finished 4th place with 32 points;
Guadalajara finished with 33 points.
Relegation In the
1971-72 season the club found itself playing in group 2 with clubs
Monterrey,
Guadalajara,
Puebla,
Atlante,
Pachuca,
Pumas,
Toluca and
Torreón. At the end of the tournament the club finished last and had to play a relegation series against the other last place teams. The series was played against
Torreón,
Atlético Español, and
Veracruz. the first match was played against Veracruz who defeated them 3–1 the first leg, the second leg ended in a 0–0 draw. The last game was played against
Torreón in the
Estadio Jalisco where Irapuato lost 1–0 and were relegated for the first time in 18 years to the
Segunda División de México.
Segunda División Back in the
Segunda División the club became a top club reaching the final in its first year back against
Petroleros de Ciudad Madero. The first game was played in
Irapuato which they won 1–0. It seemed the club would clinch its promotion having the second match at home, but surprisingly Ciudad Madero came out with a 2–0 victory and so earning its promotion. In the 1974–75 season, the club had its second opportunity when they once again reached the final this time playing against
Tecos. The club would lose that final match 1–0. It took place in the
Estadio Azteca in
Mexico City. The club would get a third opportunity to earn a promotion in 1978; this time against
Zacatepec. This time a series was played. The first match ended in a 1–0 victory for Zacatepec. The second match ended in a 4–1 victory for Zacatepec and so the club would lose its third promotion series in 6 years.
Second promotion In the 1980s the club had a streak of qualifying to the quarterfinals but not been able to reach the final. After four years the club finally reached the final in the 1984-85 tournament under the management of
Diego Malta Solano against
Pachuca. The first match was played in Irapuato where they took a 2–1 advantage. in the return match Irapuato came out with a win and finally earn the promotion after 13 years. Notable players from that club were Anselmo Romero, Rafael Lira, Jesús Montes, Eugenio Constantino and
Teodoro Orozco.
Second relegation In the
1990-91 season Irapuato got relegated to the Segunda División for the second time. In 1994, Irapuato joined the newly formed ''
Primera División 'A' de México'' and got the opportunity to return to the Primera División.
1999–00 promotion In the Invierno 99 season, Irapuato faced
Zacatepec in the Final, they beat them 3–1 in the first leg with goals from
Cristián Ariel Morales, and Martín Rodríguez in the second leg things got complicated when Zacatepec tied the game, but Morales and Rodriguez scored and they took the championship with an overall score of 5–3. In the Verano 2000 season, the champion Irapuato made it to the final, again this time facing
Cruz Azul Hidalgo if Irapuato would win they would be promoted to the Primera División, the first leg was played in
Hidalgo and the score was 2–2 Martín Rodríguez and Jesús Gutiérrez scored the two goals for Irapuato. The second leg and Promotional Final was played in The
Sergio León Chávez on 10 June 2000. The final score was 2–2
Cristián Morales and Martín Rodríguez scored for Irapuato,
Alejandro Corona and
James Owusu-Ansah scored for Cruz Azul Hidalgo. In extra time no one scored so they went to penalties, Cruz Azul Hidalgo's Pedro Resendiz, Josef Nemec, scored the penalties but Erik Marín, and Mario Ramírez missed. However, Irapuato's Martín Rodríguez,
Cristián Morales, Víctor Saavedra and Héctor Gómez scored the penalties the final score was 4–2 in penalties. Irapuato would return to the Primera División almost a decade after being relegated in 1991.
First disappearance Suddenly, on 26 December 2001, Grupo Pegaso announced that Irapuato was sold and moved to the city of
Veracruz,
Veracruz and renamed
Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz for its spot in the Primera División after the original Veracruz franchise was sold and moved to
Tuxtla Gutiérrez,
Chiapas and renamed
Jaguares de Chiapas, and therefore, the city Irapuato was left without a team for the Verano 2002 season. Also, in the Invierno 2002 season or Apertura 2002, it was announced that
Querétaro, a Segunda División team was also sold and moved to Irapuato under the name
Real Irapuato. In their first season, they made it to the final against
La Piedad and eventually won the Apertura 2002 championship in penalties.
First reappearance For the Apertura 2002,
Querétaro, a team from the
Primera División 'A' de México was sold and transferred to Irapuato after
La Piedad was dissolved in the Primera División and later sold and transferred to the city of
Querétaro,
Querétaro.
2002–03 promotion In the 2003, season Irapuato made it to the 2002-03 promotional final against Clausura 2003 champions and arch rivals
León. The first leg was played on 18 June 2003 when Irapuato won the
Clásico del Bajío and the first game in Leon's home 2–1 with a goal from
Ariel González and an own goal from Gorsd, the second leg was played in Irapuato and in the last moments of the game Josias Ferreira scores a goal ending the game 1–0 and returning Irapuato to the Primera División.
Second disappearance After the Clausura 2004, Irapuato ended up with 6 wins, 8 ties and 5 losses with a total of 26 points. It was announced that the club was sold and relocated to the city of
Colima,
Colima, but the
FMF reduced the league from 20 to 18 teams, and Irapuato was joined with Querétaro to dissolve both of those teams.
Second reappearance and third relegation Irapuato was the city without a soccer team for 1 year, but it was announced that
Mérida F.C., a team from the Segunda División was transferred to Irapuato for the Apertura 2005. After the Clausura 2006, the team was playing for a survival to stay in the league, but they relegated to the
Tercera División de México after losing in a playoff against
Delfines de Coatzacoalcos.
Return to Liga de Ascenso • Apertura 2008: Promoted from the Segunda División from
Pachuca Juniors and renamed "Club Irapuato Por Siempre". They made it all the way to the final, but lost to Querétaro on the road after tied 0–0 at their home turf. • Clausura 2009: Bad Torneo, with 20 points (17th overall and 4th in Group 2). • Apertura 2009: Changed format to one full standings from 3 groups from the federation and reduced the teams to 17. Clinched Homefield and 1st round bye with a first-place finish of a total of 32 points. They made it all the way to the final for the second time in 3 Torneos, but lost to
Necaxa in extra time at home after losses 1–0 on the road in the first leg. • Bicentenario 2010: They maintain their roster, but finished 11th place with 20 points. • Apertura 2010: Increased the teams to 18. They brought
Cuauhtémoc Blanco to Irapauto for 1.5 seasons. They made it all the way to the final for the third time in 5 Torneos, but lost to Veracruz (the top seed in the playoffs) in full-time on the road after tied 1–1 at their home turf in the first leg with their 26 points and finished in the top 4.
Clausura 2011 Champions In the
Clausura 2011 Season, Irapuato was crowned Champion by defeating
Tijuana in the final with a score of 2–1. The First Leg was played in
Tijuana,
Baja California and it ended in a 1–1 draw goals were scored by Luis Alberto Valdez at 8' for Irapuato, and
Alejandro Molina at 60' for Tijuana. The Second Leg was played in Irapuato and ended in a 1–0 win for Irapuato crowning them as Champions of the Clausura 2011, the goal was scored by
José Cruz Gutiérrez in the 85' minute of the game.
Squad •
1 Adrián Martínez •
2 Margarito González •
8 Jorge Manrique •
10 Cuauhtémoc Blanco •
11 Ariel González •
13 Gandhi Vega •
16 Arturo Alvarado •
18 Esteban Alberto González •
21 José Luis López •
27 Gerardo Gomez •
44 Juan Carlos Arellano Substitutes •
6 Francisco Razo •
7 Alejandro Castillo •
45 José Cruz Gutiérrez •
23 Javier Saavedra •
28 Luis Alberto Valdés •
29 José Guadalupe Martínez •
58 Efraín Cruz •
5 Ezequiel Brítez 2011 promotional final 1st leg After being crowned Champions of the Clausura 2011 season. Irapuato faced
Tijuana the Apertura 2010 Champions again, for a spot in the Primera División. The First leg of the Promotional final was played at
Irapuato,
Guanajuato on 18 May 2011, four days after winning the championship at home. Irapuato was highly motivated to return to the Primera División after 7 years of absence, Tijuana on the other hand had never had Primera División experience. The first leg of the final was tied in a scoreless tie between the two teams.
2nd leg Three days after the first match in Irapuato, the second leg of the Promotional final was played in Tijuana's
Estadio Caliente stadium. Tijuana made several changes to their starting 11 players, replacing defender
Miguel Almazán with a forward, and changing their formation from a 5-4-1 formation to a more attacking 4-2-2 formation. Irapuato made many drastic changes as well; they changed to a
5-3-2 formation fortifying their defense with 5 players. During the match, Tijuana had various chances for goal and the first goal came from young prospect
Joe Corona scoring a header in the first half. Three minutes later,
Mauro Gerk scored. Five minutes after the second goal, Irapuato scored after
Alejandro Molina from Tijuana accidentally pushed the ball into the net from a free kick done by
José Cruz Gutiérrez. The game ended in a 2–1 win for Tijuana.
Tijuana got promoted to the Primera División while Irapuato remained in the
Liga de Ascenso de México.
After promotional final • Apertura 2011: The league reduced the teams to 16. Cuauhtémoc Blanco didn't play some games due to injury, but they still finished in 5th place. However, they were eliminated in the Quarterfinals by their rivals
León. • Clausura 2012: The league reduced the teams once again to 15 teams. Cuauhtémoc Blanco was released from the team due to injury issues and a bad season. They earned 14 points and finished in 12th place after they didn't win in their final 5 games. • Apertura 2012: They have their worst season, with 16 points. They finished in 12th place after they didn't win in their last 5 games. When the season was over, the federation was owed 3 million for Cuauhtémoc Blanco. On 15 December, they had a 65% chance of being dissolved. The team was then sold and relocated to
Zacatepec,
Morelos and renamed
Zacatepec beginning next season.
Third disappearance and played in Segunda División After the Clausura 2013, Irapuato finished in the bottom 5 of the standings and the team was sold and moved to
Zacatepec,
Morelos and rebranded as
Zacatepec 1948.
Union de Curtidores was rumored to be moving into the city of Irapuato to replace the dissolved franchise there, but the owner of Union de Curtidores decided to keep the team in
León after getting approval to play their home games in
Estadio Nou Camp. However, some time after a franchise from the city of
Querétaro was purchased, the team was revived in the
Segunda Division de México and began playing in the Liga Premier for the Apertura 2013. The franchise came to join the Copa de la Liga Premier de Ascenso Apertura 2013, where they reached the final against
Cruz Azul Jasso and lost 1–0 on aggregate, so Irapuato was runner-up. At the end of the tournament the franchise returned to the city of Querétaro, because of the restructuring that occurred in Grupo Delfines, which decided that the team that played in the Apertura 2013 at
Estadio Sergio León Chávez as Irapuato, would return to their roots to play either at
Estadio Corregidora or La Cañada.
Return to Ascenso MX and third reappearance On 29 May 2014, Enrique Bonilla, Sports CEO of the Ascenso MX unveiled the emergence of Irapuato, instead of
Ballenas Galeana, who had to relocate to the city of Irapuato due to their economic and financial problems, same which were resolved by guanajuatenses entrepreneurs which in turn called for the team to move to their state. Furthermore, circulated a letter from the President of the Civil Association Club Irapuato, J. Concepción Director and Enrique Bonilla, secretary general of the Ascenso MX, where the AC are declared owners of the brand name and badge Irapuato equipment.
Ballenas Galeana was sold and moved to Irapuato and renamed
Club Irapuato.
Fourth disappearance and returns to Liga Premier On 7 June 2015, Irapuato was officially sold and relocated to
Los Mochis,
Sinaloa and renamed
Murciélagos Los Mochis. They began playing in the
Segunda División de México after playing one season in the Ascenso MX. From 2015, Irapuato reached three consecutive finals, losing them all. The
Apertura 2016 and
Clausura 2017 against
Tlaxcala and the Apertura 2017 against
Tepatitlán.
Atlético Irapuato On 17 June 2019, the team was renamed as Atlético Irapuato, but maintained the same shield design, colors and identity.
Club Deportivo Irapuato On 30 July 2020, the club was renamed Club Deportivo Irapuato after Grupo Temachalco took possession of the franchise. At the end of the season, the team won its third Segunda División championship after defeating
Cruz Azul Hidalgo 1–3 on the aggregate scoreboard. At first it was reported that Irapuato was promoted after the Liga Premier championship. However, on 3 June 2021, the
FMF announced the opening of a selection process to choose the club that would occupy the Liga Premier's third place, because Irapuato still had to meet some requirements to compete in the
Liga de Expansión MX, three Liga Premier clubs were chosen for an audit process that would determine the winner of the promotion. On 5 July 2021, it was confirmed that no team undergoing the certification audit approved the procedure, so there would be no club promoted from the Liga Premier, for this reason the promotion of Irapuato was very frustrated by administrative issues of the club and regulations of the league. Therefore, the club announced that it would continue to participate in the
Serie A and began a process to form a new roster of players. However, at the end of August 2021, Grupo Tecamachalco transferred the franchise to local businessmen to ensure its continuity and avoid promotion problems for the club, this after Fernando San Román, CEO of Tecamachalco, was sanctioned by the
FMF and the company decided to seek the purchase of a football team in
Costa Rica. However, at the end of August 2021, the Irapuato city council denied the use of the
Estadio Sergio León Chávez to the club due to breach of the agreement signed between the team and the government, since a clause of the agreement stipulated that the team should be promoted to the Liga de Expansión MX for the 2021–22 season, something that could not be fulfilled. After this fact, the new board sought to establish the team in a city near Irapuato while the city council negotiated with the owners of
Alebrijes de Oaxaca for the arrival of a new franchise that would continue the football in the city. Finally, neither the club nor the city council managed to close the negotiations, so on 10 September, it was announced that the team went into a hiatus, so it would not dispute any competition during the season. After two years of absence, the team was reestablished in June 2023, keeping the name Club Deportivo Irapuato and returning to play in the
Liga Premier –
Serie A. Under that era, the team won the Serie A championship in the
2025 Clausura tournament. Following that victory, the team began to be considered as a candidate for an invitation to participate in the Liga de Expansión MX. This invitation became effective on 19 June 2025, when Irapuato's entry into that league as a guest team was announced because
Peribán, the season's champion team in the Liga Premier – Serie A, did not meet the requirements to aspire to promotion. However, the announcement sparked an institutional crisis within the team. Juan Manuel Albo, president of an association named Club Deportivo Irapuato A.C., which holds the rights to the club's logo and name, announced that he would not allow the franchise operated by Healthy People to play in the Liga de Expansión MX due to an alleged financial debt related to the payment of the rights to use the brand. Furthermore, Albo intended to pursue his own sports project in the same league. Consequently, the league and the
FMF announced that they would not allow the participation of any project other than the one operated by Healthy People, which caused football in Irapuato to go on a hiatus for several weeks. The crisis was finally resolved after the intervention of the
Government of Guanajuato, which acted as a mediator between the opposing sides, and on 10 July 2025, Irapuato's entry into the Liga de Expansión MX was confirmed. In
Apertura 2025, their first tournament in the Liga de Expansión, Irapuato finished the regular season in fourth place in the standings, advancing to the playoffs. In the quarterfinals they eliminated
Mineros de Zacatecas and in the semifinals
Atlético Morelia, in both cases with ties in aggregate but getting the pass because they were the best seeded team, so Irapuato qualified for the final in the tournament of return to the second tier of Mexican football. However, in the final they were defeated by
Club Jaiba Brava with a score of 1-0, so Irapuato finished the tournament as runner-up in the Liga de Expansión. ==Historic badges==